STRIKE LEADERS CLARIFY STANCE ON WORK RULES

Leaders of the union representing striking workers at Fenn Manufacturing clarified their bargaining position Friday by saying they are willing to negotiate more flexible work rules.

They had said publicly that they would not give up those rights.

"We want to do it in a manner that both sides are happy," said Bob Patti, international representative for the IUE/CWA union representing 117 workers at Fenn in Newington. "Let us have a say, let us have dignity."

The labor dispute at Fenn, a 102-year-old maker of critical helicopter parts, is unusual because it's a standoff -- not over money but over how the company is to be run.

Fenn, owned by SPX Corp., wants to eliminate contract language assuringthat any future owner of the company must recognize the union.

That amounts to union-busting, the workers say.

Fenn managers said their goal is to position the company for growth, but the union is skeptical of SPX's history of shuttering plants.